EUROPEAN FILM AWARD | Best Actress

1. Tilda Swinton

The iconoclastic gifts of the highly striking and ferociously talented actress Tilda Swinton have been appreciated by art house crowds and international audiences alike. After her stunning Oscar-winning turn as a high-powered corporate attorney in the George Clooney starring and critically-lauded ...

2011 - WINNER - WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

2. Cécile de France

Actress | L'auberge espagnole

Cecile de France was born in Namur in Belgium in 1975 and discovered her vocation at the early age of six. As soon as she was seventeen, she was off to Paris with the ambition of beginning a career on the stage. She studied drama with Jean-Paul Denizon, actor and assistant to Peter Brook, before ...

2011 nominee - The Kid with the Bike (2011)

Origin: Belgium. Film: Belgium/France. Language: French.

3. Kirsten Dunst

Actress | Spider-Man

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, ...

2011 nominee - Melancholia (2011)

Origin: USA. Film: Denmark/Sweden/Germany/France. Language: English.

4. Charlotte Gainsbourg

Actress | Nymphomaniac: Vol. II

Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London, England in 1971. She is an Anglo-French actress and singer. The daughter of English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French songwriter, singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg, she was raised in Paris. Charlotte made her motion picture debut in 1984. In 1986, ...

2011 nominee - Melancholia (2011)

Origin: France/UK. Film: Denmark/Sweden/Germany/France. Language: English.

5. Nadezhda Markina

Actress | Elena

Nadezhda Markina was born on January 29, 1959 in Dmitrievka, Nikiforovskiy rayon, Tambovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Elena (2011), Sophia (2016) and Vstretimsya vchera (2024).

2011 nominee - Elena (2011)

Origin: Russia. Film: Russia. Language: Russian.

6. Sylvie Testud

Actress | La Môme

Sylvie Testud was born on January 17, 1971 in Lyon, Rhône, France. She is an actress and writer, known for La Vie En Rose (2007), Suspiria (2018) and Fear and Trembling (2003).

2010 WINNER - LOURDES (2010)

Origin: France. Film: France. Language: French.

7. Zrinka Cvitesic

Actress | Na putu

Zrinka Cvitesic is a Croatian film, television and theater actress. She started acting at elementary school and her first role was Cinderella. As a theater actress, she has been a member of the Croatian National Theater since 2005. In April 2013, she made her West End debut at the Phoenix Theater ...

2010 nominee - On the Path (2010)

Origin: Croatia. Film: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Language: Bosnian.

8. Sibel Kekilli

Actress | Gegen die Wand

Sibel Kekilli is a German actress of Turkish origin. With her debut in Fatih Akin's movie "Head On" she gained major public attention. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2004 and her acting performance received several national and international prizes, among them the highly ...

2010 Nominee - When We Leave (2010)

Origin: Germany/Turkey. Film: Germany. Language: German/Turkish.

9. Lesley Manville

Actress | Phantom Thread

Lesley Manville was born on March 12, 1956 in Brighton, East Sussex, England. She is a multi award-winning actress of theatre, film, and television, and has worked extensively with director Mike Leigh. She is known for Another Year (2010), All or Nothing (2002), Topsy-Turvy (1999) and Secrets &...

2010 Nominee - Another Year (2010)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

10. Lotte Verbeek

Actress | The Fault in Our Stars

Lotte Verbeek is an award-winning Dutch actress, dancer and model. Lotte was born in Venlo, Netherlands. She was educated at Gymnasium Collegium Marianum in Venlo and graduated in 2008 at the Theaterschool in Amsterdam. From 1999, Verbeek attended the Dance Academy in Arnhem and the Amsterdam ...

2010 Nominee - Nothing Personal (2009)

Origin: Netherlands. Film: Netherlands/Ireland. Language: Dutch.

11. Kate Winslet

Actress | Titanic

Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...

2009 WINNER - THE READER (2008)

Origin: UK. Film: UK/USA/Germany. Language: English.

12. Penélope Cruz

Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...

2009 Nominee - Broken Embraces (2009)

Origin: Spain. Film: Spain. Language: Spanish.

13. Charlotte Gainsbourg

Actress | Nymphomaniac: Vol. II

Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London, England in 1971. She is an Anglo-French actress and singer. The daughter of English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French songwriter, singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg, she was raised in Paris. Charlotte made her motion picture debut in 1984. In 1986, ...

2009 Nominee - Antichrist (2009)

Origin: France/UK. Film: Denmark/France/Germany/Sweden/Poland/Italy. Language: English.

14. Katie Jarvis

Actress | Fish Tank

Katie Jarvis was born on June 22, 1991 in Dagenham, Essex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Fish Tank (2009), I Was 3 (2017) and Ginger (2016).

2009 Nominee - Fish Tank (2009)

Origin: English. Film: UK. Language: English.

15. Yolande Moreau

Actress | Quand la mer monte...

Yolande Moreau was born on February 27, 1953 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for When the Sea Rises (2004), Amélie (2001) and Seraphine (2008).

2009 Nominee - Seraphine (2008)

Origin: France. Film: France. Language: French.

16. Noomi Rapace

Actress | Män som hatar kvinnor

Swedish actress Noomi Rapace was born in Hudiksvall, Gävleborgs län, Sweden to Swedish actress Nina Norén and Spanish Flamenco singer Rogelio de Badajoz (Rogelio Durán). Her parents did not stay together, and when she was five she moved to Iceland with her mother and stepfather, where she lived for...

2009 Nominee - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Origin: Sweden. Film: Sweden. Language: Swedish.

17. Kristin Scott Thomas

Actress | Gosford Park

The acclaimed Cornish actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to Deborah (Hurlbatt) and Lieutenant Commander Simon Scott Thomas. Her father was a pilot for the British Royal Navy and died in a flying accident in 1964. Her stepfather, Lt. Cdr Simon Idiens, was also a pilot, ...

2008 WINNER - I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (2008)

Origin: UK. Film: France/Germany. Language: French.

18. Hiam Abbass

Actress | Blade Runner 2049

Hiam Abbass also Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and film director. Abbass was born in Nazareth, Israel, to a Muslim Arab family. She was raised in the village of Deir Hanna. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in Paris and holds French citizenship. During the filming of the Steven Spielberg ...

2008 Nominee - Lemon Tree (2008)

Origin: Palestine. Film: Israel/Germany/France. Language: Hebrew/Arabic.

19. Arta Dobroshi

Actress | Le silence de Lorna

Arta Dobroshi was born on October 2, 1980 in Prishtina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and producer, known for Lorna's Silence (2008), Three Worlds (2012) and Stray (2018).

2008 Nominee - Lorna's Silence (2008)

Origin: Kosovo/Albania. Film: Beligum. Language: French.

20. Sally Hawkins

Actress | The Shape of Water

Sally Cecilia Hawkins was born in 1976 in Lewisham hospital, London, England, to Jacqui and Colin Hawkins, authors and illustrators of children's books. She is of English and Irish descent. Hawkins was brought up in Greenwich, in southeast London. She attended James Allen's Girls' School in Dulwich...

2008 Nominee - Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

21. Belén Rueda

Actress | El orfanato

María Belén Rueda García-Porrero (born March 16, 1965) is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her roles as Lucía in the TV series Los Serrano (2003); as Julia in The Sea Inside (2004), for which she won a Goya Award; and as Laura in The Orphanage (2007), for which she received another Goya ...

2008 Nominee - The Orphanage (2007)

Origin: Spain. Film: Spain. Language: Spanish.

22. Ursula Werner

Actress | Wolke 9

Ursula Werner was born on September 28, 1943 in Eberswalde, Germany. She is an actress, known for Cloud 9 (2008), F for Freaks (2019) and All About Me (2018).

2008 Nominee - Cloud 9 (2008)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language: Germany.

23. Helen Mirren

Actress | The Queen

Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. ...

2007 WINNER: THE QUEEN (2006)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

24. Marion Cotillard

Actress | La Môme

Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris. Cotillard is the daughter of Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, playwright and director, and Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher. Her father's family is from Brittany.

Raised in Orléans, France, she ...

2007 Nominee: La Vie En Rose (2007)

Origin: France. Film: France/Czech Republic/UK. Language: French.

25. Émilie Dequenne

Actress | Rosetta

Émilie Dequenne was born on August 29, 1981 in Beloeil, Wallonia, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Rosetta (1999), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and Our Children (2012). She has been married to Michel Ferracci since October 11, 2014.

2012 nominee - Our Children (2012)

Origin: Belgium Film: Belgium Language: French

26. Marianne Faithfull

Actress | Marie Antoinette

Daughter of Eva, the Baroness Erisso, and Major Glynn Faithfull, a WWII British spy. Recorded the first song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "As Tears Go By" (1964). Involved in a major drug scandal with Jagger, Richards, and others, which ultimately turned public opinion favorably ...

2007 Nominee: Irina Palm (2007)

Origin: UK. Film: Belgium/Luxembourg/France/Germany/UK. Language: English.

27. Carice van Houten

Actress | Game of Thrones

One of Europe's most celebrated actresses, Carice van Houten is perhaps best known as 'Melisandre' in the iconic TV show Game of Thrones, a performance for which she has been recognized with an Emmy Award nomination in 2019. Other projects include Paul Verhoeven's award-winning Black Book and Bryan...

2007 Nominee: Black Book (2006)

Origin: Netherlands. Film: Germany/UK/Netherlands. Language: Dutch

28. Anamaria Marinca

Actress | 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile

Anamaria Marinca was born on April 1, 1978 in Iasi, Romania. She is an actress, known for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), Europa Report (2013) and Fury (2014).

2007 Nominee: 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (2007)

Origin: Romania. Film: Romania. Language: Romanian.

29. Kseniya Rappoport

Actress | La doppia ora

Kseniya Rappoport was born on March 25, 1974 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for The Double Hour (2009), The Unknown Woman (2006) and Yurev den (2008). She is married to Dmitriy Borisov.

2007 Nominee: The Unknown (2006).

Origin: Russia. Film: Italy. Language: Italian.

30. Penélope Cruz

Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...

2006 WINNER: VOLVER (2006)

Origin: Spain. Film: Spain. Language: Spanish.

31. Nathalie Baye

Actress | Catch Me If You Can

Nathalie Baye was born on July 6, 1948 in Mainneville, Eure, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Catch Me If You Can (2002), Laurence Anyways (2012) and Venus Beauty Institute (1999).

2006 Nominee: The Young Lieutenant (2006)

Origin: France. Film: France. Language: French.

32. Martina Gedeck

Actress | Das Leben der Anderen

Martina Gedeck was born in Munich. After spending a year in the US, she studied drama at the Berlin University of the Arts. Martina's film career began while she was still at drama school. Her filmography covers practically all genres of film.

Gedeck has won a total of 23 major cinema and TV awards....

2006 Nominee: The Lives of Others (2006)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language: German.

33. Sandra Hüller

Actress | Anatomie d'une chute

Sandra Hüller was born in Suhl. She studied acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. For her performance of Anneliese Michel in Hans-Christian Schmid's drama Requiem she won The Silver Bear for Best Actress. She is internationally known for her starring role in Maren Ade's Toni...

2006 Nominee: Requiem (2006)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language. German.

34. Mirjana Karanovic

Actress | Dobra zena

Mirjana Karanovic was born on January 28, 1957 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and director, known for A Good Wife (2016), Grbavica (2006) and Requiem for Mrs. J (2017).

2006 Nominee: Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006)

Origin: Serbia. Film: Bosnia & Herzegovina Language: Bosnian.

35. Sarah Polley

Actress | My Life Without Me

Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her ...

2006 Nominee: The Secret Life of Words (2005)

Origin: Canada. Film: Spain/Canada. Language: English.

36. Julia Jentsch

Actress | Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage

After school, Jentsch turned to acting. She attended the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. Jentsch then began her acting career in the theater. In 2001 she joined the ensemble of the Munich Kammerspiele, where she masterfully interpreted Desdemona in Shakespeare's "Othello", Sophocles...

2005 WINNER: SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS (2004)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language: German.

37. Sandra Ceccarelli

Actress | Luce dei miei occhi

Daughter of Franco Ceccarelli, guitarist of the famous Italian group Equipe 84, started her acting career playing Stefania Sandrelli's daughter in the 1984's "Segreti secret" by Giuseppe Bertolucci. Then she frequented the Accademy of Fine Arts and worked as an illustrator. Between 1995 and 1997 ...

2005 Nominee: The Life I Want (2005)

Origin: Italy. Film: Italy. Language: Italian.

38. Connie Nielsen

Actress | Gladiator

Connie Nielsen is set to begin production on Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2," where she will star alongside Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, reprising her iconic role of 'Lucilla' from the Academy Award-winning film "Gladiator." She appears in Ava Duvernay's feature, "Origin," based on the book by ...

2005 Nominee: Brothers (2004)

Origin: Denmark. Film: Denmark/UK/Sweden/Norway. Language: Danish.

39. Natalie Press

Actress | My Summer of Love

Natalie Press was born on August 15, 1973 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for My Summer of Love (2004), Suffragette (2015) and Red Road (2006).

2005 Nominee: My Summer of Love (2004)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

40. Audrey Tautou

Actress | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Audrey Justine Tautou was born on August 9, 1976 in Beaumont, France, to Evelyne Marie Laure (Nuret), a teacher, and Bernard Tautou, a dental surgeon. Audrey showed an interest for comedy at an early age and started her acting lessons at 'Cours Florent'. In 1998 she won the best young actress award...

2005 Nominee: A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Origin: France. Film: France/USA. Language: French.

41. Imelda Staunton

Actress | Vera Drake

Imelda Staunton is an English actress and singer from Archway, London. Her ancestry is primarily Irish. She has worked extensively in theater, and has won 4 Laurence Olivier Awards; 3 for leading roles and one for a supporting role. Her best known role in films has been the recurring villain ...

2004 WINNER: VERA DRAKE (2004)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

42. Sarah Adler

Actress | Meduzot

Sarah Adler was born in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Jellyfish (2007), The Cakemaker (2017) and Marie Antoinette (2006). She is married to Raphaël Nadjari.

2004 Nominee: Our Music (2004)

Origin: France/Israel. Film: France. Language: French.

43. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

Actress | La pazza gioia

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was born on November 16, 1964 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and director, known for Like Crazy (2016), Il est plus facile pour un chameau... (2003) and Human Capital (2013).

2004 Nominee: 5x2 (2004)

Origin: France/Italy. Film: France. Language: French.

44. Penélope Cruz

Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...

2004 Nominee: Don't Move (2004)

Origin: Spain. Film: Italy/Spain. Language: Italian.

45. Sibel Kekilli

Actress | Gegen die Wand

Sibel Kekilli is a German actress of Turkish origin. With her debut in Fatih Akin's movie "Head On" she gained major public attention. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2004 and her acting performance received several national and international prizes, among them the highly ...

2004 Nominee: Head-On (2004)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany/Turkey. Language: German.

46. Assi Levy

Actress | BeTipul

Assi Levy was born on September 28, 1969 in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is an actress, known for In Therapy (2005), Aviva, My Love (2006) and Urban Feel (1999).

2004 Nominee: Stones (2004)

Origin: Israel. Film: Israel/France/USA. Language: Hebrew.

47. Charlotte Rampling

Actress | 45 Years

Tessa Charlotte Rampling was born 5 February 1946 in Sturmer, England, to Isabel Anne (Gurteen), a painter, and Godfrey Lionel Rampling, an Olympic gold medalist, army officer, and colonel, who became a NATO commander. She was educated at Jeanne d'Arc Académie pour Jeunes Filles in Versailles, ...

2003 WINNER: SWIMMING POOL (2003)

Origin: UK. Film: France. Language: French.

48. Diana Dumbrava

Actress | Maria

Diana-Florentina Dumbrava is a Romanian film and theater actress.She was born on November 30, 1967 in Bacau, Romania. She graduated from Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in 1994.In 1994, she plays first role in the movie Crucea de piatra.Other notable roles in films :Maria (1997),...

2003 Nominee: Maria (2003)

Origin: Romania. Film: Romania. Language: Romanian.

49. Helen Mirren

Actress | The Queen

Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. ...

2003 Nominee: Calender Girls (2003)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

50. Anne Reid

Actress | Hot Fuzz

Anne was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne but the family moved to Redcar when the WWII started. She was educated at White House School where she acted in a school play of Romeo and Juliet with June Laverick, who when older would also take to the stage. When Anne got older she was sent to a boarding ...

2003 Nominee: The Mother (2003)

Origin: UK. Film: UK. Language: English.

51. Katja Riemann

Actress | Fack ju Göhte

Katja Riemann was born on November 1, 1963 in Kirchweyhe, Weyhe, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Suck Me Shakespeer (2013), Rosenstrasse (2003) and Bandits (1997).

2003 Nominee: Rosenstrasse (2003)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language: German.

52. Katrin Sass

Actress | Good Bye Lenin!

Katrin Sass was born on October 23, 1956 in Schwerin, German Democratic Republic. She is an actress, known for Good Bye Lenin! (2003), The Weissensee Saga (2010) and Bürgschaft für ein Jahr (1981). She was previously married to Siegfried Kühn.

2003 Nominee: Goodbye, Lenin! (2003)

Origin: Germany. Film: Germany. Language: German.

53. Fanny Ardant

Actress | 8 femmes

Fanny Ardant was the youngest of five children born to a cavalry officer and his wife. She was raised in Monte Carlo where she was educated at a convent school. A voracious reader, she discovered Proust when she was 15, and felt as though his writings were for her.

When she was 17 her father died, ...

2002 WINNER: 8 WOMEN (2002).

Origin: France. Film: France. Language: French.

54. Emmanuelle Béart

Actress | 8 femmes

Emmanuelle Béart was born August 14, 1963, in Gassin, France. She lived with her mother, brothers, and sister on a farm not far from Saint-Tropez in Provence (southern France), because her father, singer and poet Guy Béart, did not want his children to be affected by the glamour world of Paris. ...